I Hate Lady Luck
by Kasai-no-Kitsune
Summary: Destiny was calling to them. Destiny meant for Sasuke and Naruto to meet that day and get married and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, Lady Luck has quite a mean streak, and Itachi loves to torment his beloved little brother. ::AU, SasuNaru::


_Disclaimer: _I don't own. Sai would die a very bloody death if I did.

_Author's Notes: _Dammit, I told myself I wouldn't add to this fandom. But I'm hooked now. Damn you SasuNaru for being so yummy...! _(cries)_ I have so much Naruto oneshots sitting around screaming at me "WRITE ME! WRITE ME! NO, NOT THAT ONE, _ME!_" and then they try to bludgeon each other for my attention. Then there are the new little plotbunnies that are whispering traitorously in my ear, "Don't write _them_, they're all dried up. Try _me, _I'm new and fresh and interesting." They all refuse to just FINISH already. Ugh. They're all dragging out so long, it's actually becoming a chore to write them.

And as for From The First Spark... the sixth chapter has been started. I'm working on it in between all these other little project, so please don't kill me...

_Warnings: _Rated for swearing only. And a few sexual innuendos.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke Uchiha actually enjoyed life. There were many things about life that irritated him beyond belief; including (but not limited to) anything remotely social, his brother Itachi, any sweet food, and Itachi, but beyond that he quite liked being alive.

Well, only every Friday. All the rest of the days sucked.

Monday was a given. Mondays always sucked. Tuesday he had Home Economics (what kind of guy took _Home Economics! _Ignoring the fact that all of his classmates, male or female, were forced into the class under threat of being held back...) with an over-sugary teacher who insisted on baking only truckloads of candies and desserts, then forcing her students to eat every last bite. Actually, most other kids seemed to love that class, because they got to pig out on sugar. Sasuke had never seen the appeal of rotting his teeth away. Wednesday he had Study Hall with that pony-tailed blond wench, Ino. She tended to describe to Sasuke _all about _her new diet in heart-stopping detail, somehow managing to drop sultry insinuations that Sasuke would be all over her soon in between every two sentences. Thursdays just plain sucked.

Fridays, however... Friday made up for all the crap Sasuke had to put up with the rest of the week, and all because of one annoying, exuberant blue-eyed blond.

This blond worked at a cafe every Friday afternoon and all weekend, but Sasuke could never visit on the weekends because he was cooped up at home with his brother Itachi, which really sucked. Every Friday, however, the afternoon belonged to Sasuke.

The cafe was quite busy this particular Friday afternoon. Sasuke smiled internally (because it was taboo for him to smile externally) and settled in his usual booth in the corner. Out of his peripheral vision he spotted a blond waiter with interesting whisker-like marks on his cheeks make a beeline for him. Sasuke pretended not to notice. He could tell without looking up that the waiter had a huge grin across his attractive face.

"Good afternoon, sir." the blond waiter said in his most sugary, simpering voice. "What would you like to order on this fine day?"

"I'll have two coffees." Sasuke replied in his best impression of a pompous businessman. He could see the corners of the waiter's mouth twitching with the effort of trying not to laugh. "Make one black," Sasuke continued, a smirk curving his thin lips, "but load the other one with all the sugar you have. And hurry up there!" he shouted at the retreating back as the waiter hurried off, shoulders shaking as he burst into laughter, "I'm a very busy man!"

The coffee he got there was always Sasuke's favorite. He came so often that they knew exactly how he liked it, and they always came in a timely manner. Sasuke reflected briefly as the waiter set his coffees down. He pulled the black one over right away and sipped it delicately. Perfect, as always. He left the sugary coffee untouched.

Besides the coffees, though...

"I'm taking my break!" Sasuke heard the blond waiter from before call to his boss. Still Sasuke didn't look up from where he was staring at the table. But one of those taboo smiles was closer than he'd ever have allowed it before.

The waiter strolled right over, tossing his apron to the side as he did, and slid into the booth across from Sasuke. He immediately snatched the sugary coffee and downed half of it in one gulp.

"Thank god, Sasuke, you're a lifesaver." he groaned, massaging his temples. "I've had a big-ass headache all day..."

"When was the last time you had caffeine?" Sasuke asked over the rim of his cup.

"Um... This morning?" the waiter grinned sheepishly.

"Addict." Sasuke chuckled.

"Prick!" the waiter retorted.

"Moron."

"Asshole!"

"Dead last."

"Bastard!"

"Hn."

"Is that all you can come up with?" The waiter laughed. "That means I win by default!" Sasuke liked the sound of his laugh (though he'd impale himself on a stake before admitting that out loud). He didn't deign to answer the question, though, instead choosing to take a dignified sip of coffee.

"Still a prick, I see." the waiter said, leaning casually back in his seat and tapping his foot to an invisible beat. "So, how's life been treating you?"

Sasuke choked on his coffee a little bit. "What are you, my shrink?" he asked when he cleared his windpipe, frowning. "Why ask something like that?"

"Is it a crime that I care?" the waiter threw his hands up innocently in a gesture of defeat. "Jeez, don't pop a blood vessel now. I know it's such a foreign concept to you, but some people actually care about their friends."

Another taboo smile threatened to embarrass the life out of Sasuke by showing itself. So he was a friend now, huh? Aww, how nice. "Life would be treating me a lot better without the sarcasm." he commented dryly.

The waiter chuckled, then started as he heard his named called. "Break's over, get back to work!" A pink-haired woman wearing a scowl shouted at him from behind the counter.

"Yes, ma'am!" he called to his boss, saluting her teasingly, then gulped the rest of his coffee down quickly. Sasuke held in his amazement that the waiter's throat didn't get burned. "Thanks for the caffeine, Sasuke! You know I can't live without seeing your asshole face every Friday!" he laughed, waving fondly as he ran back to work. Sasuke waved goodbye in return as he gathered his bag in preparation to leave.

"... Wait, Naruto!" Sasuke cried suddenly. Naruto froze. Sasuke never tried to stop him going back to work. He slowly pivoted, confusion etched in his features that Sasuke knew too well. "Do you, uh..." Dammit. Sasuke was supposed to be smooth. He was supposed to calm and cool and collected. He wasn't supposed to get flustered like this! "I know you've never seriously considered before, but could at least think about... going on a date with me? Just one?"

Naruto considered him seriously for a long time, during which Sasuke just shifted uncomfortably, like a butterfly about to be pinned. "... Actually, that sounds fun." Naruto said finally. Sasuke's heart disappeared for a moment. "When are you free?"

"Any weekend. I never have anything to do." Sasuke said quickly, the sunniest smile of his whole life lighting his face.

"This Saturday sounds great, then! How about we meet here at noon, then decide where to go?" Naruto suggested.

"That sounds like a plan." Sasuke replied, feeling his heart reappear suddenly. It seemed to have been filled with dancing, swirling clouds of happiness while it was absent.

Sasuke had long ago decided that Lady Luck didn't like him much. He was stuck with Itachi for a brother, for Pete's sake. That alone proved that Lady Luck wasn't too fond of him. But he was hoping, praying, begging Lady Luck to at least lend him one ear until he could successfully woo the blond. Maybe something would finally go right in his life.

* * *

_A few months ago..._

It had happened, once upon a time, on a Friday afternoon. Sasuke didn't know whether to curse that Friday or dance for joy. Or maybe curse Itachi. Yes, that could work. Stupid Itachi decided that he had such a strong urge to go to the beach with his friend Kisame that he just had to unceremoniously kick his little brother out of the house for a few hours. Disgruntled and sullen, Sasuke decided that his time was best spent looking for some caffeine, so he gathered up all loose change he could find in his pockets and headed to the bus stop. When he climbed onto the bus... that was when he first saw _him_.

The feeling of seeing him for the first time was rather like a hammer to the skull, sans the painful concussion. All thoughts fled from his mind, leaving only blue eyes, blond hair, tan skin, bright smile. He was left in suspension as that beautiful person walked by. Sasuke couldn't even breathe. That person was everything he was not- loud, cheerful, bright, friendly. Sasuke knew immediately that they would get married and grow old together.

But first he needed to think of a plausible reason to introduce himself to the blond.

This was no small deal. After all, this was _Sasuke Uchiha. _The living rock. The asshole of the century. The one who spent the majority of his life pretending other people didn't exist and the rest of it telling anyone who approached to go shove poles up uncomfortable places. But there was no way he could let an amazing catch like that just walk by. It was destiny. Destiny had meant for them to meet that day. Destiny was calling to them.

Unfortunately, the blond didn't seem to be listening to destiny. He was listening to his iPod.

Rocking along without shame, too. Tapping his foot to the beat and humming obnoxiously. Sasuke decided that asking about his music would be a good talking point, since he clearly wasn't shy about it. Just casually ask what he's listening to, then engage him in an interesting conversation that would eventually lead to trading phone numbers...

"What are you listening to?"

The boy popped one earbud out of his ear and grinned widely. "Fat Lip by Sum 41." he replied. His voice was scratchy and just a little annoying. So much different from Sasuke's smooth, deep voice.

Sasuke twitched. Before he could stop himself, he said with disgust, "You listen to that crap?"

The boy's face twisted with indignation and rage. "What, you asshole? You asked, and I told you what I was listening to! Who the hell do you think you are? You can't just insult someone's music like that!"

Half the bus's occupants were now staring at them oddly. Sasuke flushed. This was not going the way he planned. At least he had the blond's attention now. It was a simple remedy, right? All he needed to do was calmly apologize and ask for the blond's name...

"It's not my fault you chose to listen to crap." Damn. That apology didn't exactly go where he wanted it to. His pride simply refused to unbend. "Not only crap, but you were humming obnoxiously. What, are you a moron? Maybe I was just a little curious, since you're practically blasting that trash next to me." Uh-oh, that wasn't supposed to happen...

"_What! _God, what is wrong with you? What crawled up your ass and died, prissy queen? You're such a bastard!" the blond shouted. Inner Sasuke cringed. This was definitely not in the wooing plans.

"Better than a moron with bad taste." Sasuke eyed the blond's loud orange clothing with disdain. "I think that crap you call music rotted your brain... if you had one in the first place."

The blond's mouth opened to utter a retort most likely peppered with all of the foulest words he could think of, but at that moment, the bus screeched to a noisy halt. The blond gave Sasuke one last furious glance, then whirled around and stormed off the bus. Sasuke hovered for a moment, letting other people file out before him, then slipped into the crowd and exited the bus.

It wasn't hard to find the blond in the crowd again. He was so bright, like a mini sun in the river of gray coats. Sasuke trailed along behind him, noting with amusement that he still seemed agitated. He was stomping with more force than necessary, and kept scratching his scalp.

By the time they got to the blond's destination, he had calmed down a lot. When the pretty little blond waltzed right into a cafe, dread filled Sasuke to the tip. What if he was meeting someone for a date? He would have to find this date and "remove" them from the picture...

Sasuke lingered outside for a moment or two, just so he wouldn't seem suspicious. Then, heart hammering madly, he stepped inside the cafe.  
It was a warm, inviting place, with a nice, comforting thrum of conversation adding to the atmosphere. Sasuke claimed a table in the corner and glanced around the cafe surreptitiously. The blond was nowhere to be found. This _was _the right place, right? He had been so sure that the blond had come in here...

"Good afternoon, are you ready to order- Oh god, not you." Sasuke's heart leaped at the voice, and he looked right into those shiny blue eyes he was currently obsessing over. Said blue eyes were currently glaring all sorts of ocular poison at him. The owner of the eyes was dressed in an apron with a curly logo on the front. _So he's a waiter here... _Sasuke thought happily. _I get it now... that makes things a lot easier.  
_

He allowed a smug smirk to play across his face as he elegantly opened his menu. "I don't know." he drawled, enjoying the blond's frustration. "If you're the special today, I'd like one of those."

One blond eyebrow cocked. "... I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that. Our _actual _special is a cream of mushroom soup with a-"

"I'd take a creamy soup if you gave it to me." the blond flushed at this, to Sasuke's immense amusement.

"Eww, you pervert! Are you trying to hit on me?" The blond pulled a disgusted face. "First you insult me, now you're flirting with me? Just who the hell are you?"

"Your future husband. And your name is?" Sasuke asked lightly.

"God, no. If I had to marry you, I'd kill myself. And I'm sure as hell not telling you my name!"

"Whatever you say, _Naruto_." Sasuke said casually, toying with the corner of his menu. The blond's jaw dropped.

"How-? What the-?"

"You have a name tag." Sasuke explained politely, pointing to the little name tag on the apron that read "Naruto Uzumaki". Naruto cursed and tried to cover it up, but the damage had been done.

"Look, can you please just order something and leave?" Naruto whined when he realized he was fighting a losing battle. "I don't have time for prissy emo queens right now."

"Excuse me?" Now it was Sasuke's turn to get annoyed. "That really doesn't make me want to oblige you, moron."

"Moron?" Naruto bristled at the name, but calmed himself. "Look, bastard, please just order something or get out. You're holding me up."

"I wish." Sasuke muttered under his breath. Naruto didn't seem to catch that, though. "... I'll just have a coffee." Sasuke sighed finally. Naruto looked much more cheerful now as he pulled out his obligatory pad and pen.

"Ok, do you want anything in that? Sugar? Cream?"

"Just black, please."

"I should have known." Naruto chuckled, swiping Sasuke's menu. "Only bitter for a bitter bastard like you." Sasuke chose to ignore this.

The coffee was actually nicer than Sasuke had expected. It certainly gave him a nice boost of energy. The more he thought about it, the better he felt. This was so much better than sulking around the house and trying to set Itachi on fire with his glare. Plus he got to bug the crap out of Naruto.

"Oh, waiter!" At the lazy call, Naruto rolled his eyes and sauntered over. "I think something's stuck in the back of my throat. Want to come look at it?" Sasuke smirked.

"Not really." Naruto muttered. "I'd rather let you choke."

"Oh, that's not nice, idiot. I think your tongue will work just fine..." Sasuke pretended to look thoughtful. Naruto glared.

"I wouldn't shove my tongue down your throat if you said you had a million dollars waiting for me back there. Not questioning how the hell you'd fit a million dollars in the back of your throat." Sasuke couldn't help it. He let out a teeny snort of laughter. "... Woah, was that a _laugh? _Did the prissy queen of the emo bitches just _laugh? _Damn, I didn't know you could do something so normal! Ha!"

"Shut up, dork." Sasuke spluttered, cheeks dyed a pretty shade of pink, which he barely concealed behind an arm. Unfortunately, Naruto spotted this.

"And he's _blushing, _too! Aww, how cute!" Naruto laughed and pinched Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke batted his hand away with a squawk of indignation.

"Stop it, moron! I am _not _blushing!"

"Aww, you are too." Naruto laughed, plopping unconsciously down on the seat across the table from Sasuke. "Admit it! Come on, it's cute!" Sasuke's mouth dropped open a little. No way... was that blond bombshell calling him _cute? _

"NARUTO! What are you doing, slacking off and bothering our customers! Get back to work!" a pink-haired girl behind the counter screeched. Naruto jumped up as if he'd been burned, grumbling.

"Yes, ma'am! Damn, I need caffeine..." Naruto moaned, rubbing his forehead. Sasuke bit his lower lip thoughtfully.

"When is your break, moron?" Sasuke asked.

"In a few minutes, asshole." Naruto responded, frowning slightly.

"Ok, then I'll get another coffee. No," he stopped Naruto's hand that had automatically reached for his empty mug. "A different coffee. A new one."

"Ok." Naruto sounded frankly suspicious. "You probably want that black, right?"

"Depends. How much sugar do you like?" A light slowly dawned in Naruto's pretty blue eyes, and a wide smile took over his face. That smile warmed Sasuke's heart (as cheesy as that sounds).

"You'll be wanting plenty of sugar on that, then." Naruto nodded, suddenly businesslike. "And some cream." Sasuke chuckled and nodded. Naruto practically skipped away with the precious order written on his pad. This coffee came quicker than his first one, and was accompanied by a harsh shout of, "I'm going on my break, Sakura!" Naruto then dropped himself onto the seat across from Sasuke and attacked the sugary coffee like a lion ripping at a gazelle.

"That is heaven." Naruto gasped when he finally came up for air. "Thank you so much, bastard, you're a miracle worker."

"Glad I could help." Sasuke said lightly, tapping a long finger on the tabletop and staring unabashedly at Naruto. Naruto lowered the coffee mug thoughtfully, staring right back into Sasuke's black eyes without shame.

"You know, I can't just keep calling you bastard." the blond said. "Since you know my name, it's only fair that I know yours too...?"

"It's Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke replied, pale lips quirking in a slight smile. Naruto smiled back and held his hand out for a handshake.

"Hello, Sasuke Uchiha. You know, you aren't that bad, for a stalker and a prick." Naruto laughed. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!"

Lady Luck wasn't _so _mean, after all. Right now, she was smiling benignly down on Sasuke. And holding in some frighteningly devilish giggles.

* * *

_Back in the present..._

Itachi's day, to be frank, was crap. Kisame had gotten attacked by a horde of rabid cats and forced his ever-loving partner to protect him (note the sarcasm there). Needless to say that episode left both parties with many, many scratches and bloodstained clothing. Not only that, but he accidentally walked in on Deidara and Sasori in the middle of some very sweaty foreplay in the closet when he tried to get the first aid kit... both parties of that incident were also left with many, many scratches and even more bloodied clothing.  
Itachi was not having a nice day. So he slammed the door to his house and stormed up to his room to sleep for a few hours... or he would have, had he not been stopped by a very interesting noise.

Humming, coming from his beloved little brother's room. Sasuke _never_hummed. He abhorred humming. Intrigued, Itachi inched as closely as he could to the slightly-ajar door and was met with a very interesting sight.

Sasuke was practically skipping around his room, pulling all his clothes out of his closet and tossing them onto his bed. He lined a few outfits up, as if to judge which one looked best, and tossed the rejected clothing away. He was _fussing _like a _girl _right before a _date. _Top quality blackmail material.

Chuckling evilly to himself, Itachi kicked the door in and waltzed inside, scaring his brother out of his skin.

"_Itachi! _Dear god, what do you want!" Itachi certainly had not missed Sasuke's quick effort to hide his latest outfit behind his back.

"Nothing much, dear little brother." Itachi cooed. Sasuke's eye twitched. "I just noticed you dismantling your entire wardrobe and thought I'd give my personal opinion... By the way, _this_one," Itachi snagged the clothes Sasuke was hiding and inspected them critically, "makes you look like a bag. Don't do it." Sasuke was wearing a look of utter horror, something that amused Itachi to no end. "So, what's the special event, anyway?" Itachi continued casually, eyes glinting like a cat about to pounce. "Did you finally get a date or something?"

"I- Wha- That's none of your business!" Sasuke spluttered finally. Itachi smirked inwardly. Jackpot.

"Well, if it _is _a date, I'd suggest something more form-fitting to show off your sexy stomach. Ta, Sasuke." Itachi waved himself out of the room. A grin that the devil would have fled from took over his face once he wasn't in sight any more. Perhaps this day wasn't an entire waste after all...

Lady Luck liked to tease people. Give them a taste of something nice, then rip it away. And currently, she was laughing her head off at the youngest Uchiha's misfortune of having such an conniving older brother.

* * *

"I'm going out, Itachi."

Itachi pushed his morning's paper away from his face to see his brother grabbing his bag from the arm of a chair and start heading for the front door. Itachi grinned to himself. Sasuke had taken his advice and clothed himself in a tight, navy blue quarter-sleeve shirt with a large u-neck that flaunted his creamy collarbone, and tight black jeans that flared a little at the bottom.

"You're leaving me, brother?" Itachi asked mournfully. "But we made plans today..."

Sasuke gave him a strange look. "No, we didn't. I have plans for myself today, so you can just play by yourself today.." he said this smugly, as if he was proud of himself for ditching his brother at least this once.

"We did have plans, Sasuke." Itachi leered at him. "We were going to visit Mother's and Father's graves today."

Sasuke's face fell. "We were...? I don't remember that..."

Of course they had made no such plans. But Sasuke was still so immature when it came to their parents. He had been only eight when they died, and for a little eight-year old momma's boy to be torn from his momma like that... Sasuke had never really grown up. Perhaps it was cruel of Itachi to play on Sasuke's weakness for his parents.

But Itachi didn't know the meaning of the word "cruel".

"Oh yes." Itachi sighed sorrowfully and looked off to the side; an instant sympathy measure. "You had promised me _weeks _ago that we would honor them today... Saturday was always Mother's favorite day, because she could spend it with us, her favorite boys."

This broke Sasuke immediately. "... All right. Let's go quickly. I have somewhere to be."

Itachi smiled. Mission accomplished.

Ten minutes of mourning later, the brothers walked back into the house, Sasuke grumbling about the grass stains on his nice jeans.

"By the way, little brother, don't forget to clean the house." Itachi sang as he floated into the kitchen. Sasuke froze.

"What? I never said I'd clean the house."

Itachi sighed dramatically. "Of _course _you did. Mother always cleaned the house on Saturday. It'd be an insult to her memory if we didn't keep the tradition."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open angrily. "We've never had a "tradition" like that!"

Itachi pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. "I know, dear brother, I know. I just remembered it. Isn't that so sad, that we could forget something so important to our beloved mother? We have to clean extra today to make up for the loss... that is, unless you had other plans..." he clutched his heart, as if in pain. Over-dramatic, but Sasuke was such a sucker for it.

"Well, if it was important to Mother, I suppose..."

Now Lady Luck was wiping her eyes of the tears she had shed from her peals of laughter, and grinned impishly at the amusing Uchiha brothers, waiting for the bomb to drop...

* * *

Three hours later, Sasuke collapsed onto his bed, aching all over. Itachi had somehow suckered him into dusting, vacuuming, _and _sweeping all the floors, washing all the windows, washing the car, and straightening all the bookshelves and DVD racks. He hurt everywhere, and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep for a good four hours.

But wait...

"HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS!" Sasuke shrieked suddenly, bolting up from his squishy bed, "I was supposed to meet Naruto! Oh, shit shit shit...!" With this less-than-comforting thought, he raced out of the house as fast as he could.

The cafe was empty of the one blond head he really needed to see. He had predicted as much. After all, he was a little over three hours late... Sasuke sighed and ran a fretful hand through his hair. Damn Itachi. He must have known somehow. _That's why he did all that.__Of course. _Sasuke thought angrily. _Why didn't I see it before? We never made any promises to go see our parents today... dammit. Itachi tricked me. He knew this would happen with that freaky mind-reading power of his.  
_

There was only one thing to do. Go find Naruto and beg his forgiveness. Even if Sasuke had to get on his knees and grovel for two weeks straight... Sasuke gulped. There were some things that pride came second for.

Sasuke knew of a flower shop on the route to Naruto's apartment, so he dropped in there first and left with a bouquet of red chrysanthemums in the crook of his arm. They wouldn't be worth much now, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to try.

When he finally stood before the front door of the blond's apartment, he considered ringing the doorbell, but got such a horrible case of butterflies that he had to exit the building and take a few deep breaths to hold in the temptation to throw up. Then he tried again, with the same result. After those attempts failed, Sasuke resorted to pacing back and forth around the building's front door to see if Naruto would show up. He knew from the beginning that it was hopeless, and that a chance meeting like that would only happen in a badly written TV show drama...

"Oh, look, a random stalker is outside my room. What, looking for another easy catch?" Sasuke's heart jumped so high into his throat he was surprised it hadn't jumped right out and ran at that voice, crying with happiness. Naruto was strolling forward, keys swinging around one of his fingers, glaring coldly at Sasuke. It wasn't his usual glare, either. It wasn't filled with the same type of intense heat his normal glares had. This glare froze Sasuke in his tracks.

"Na... Naruto... Look, there's a good explanation for this..." Sasuke trailed off weakly. What was he supposed to say? _Sorry, I got duped by my brother, so instead of spending the day with you, I spent the day with my dead parents and a bottle of Windex... _Oh yeah, he was sure Naruto would completely accept _that _excuse.

Naruto cocked one hip out and tapped his foot agitatedly. "Oh? There is? Really? I'm waiting."

"I, uh... my brother tricked me, ok?" Sasuke said finally, a little more forcefully than he'd intended. "He said... he tricked me into thinking that we promised to go visit my parents' graves today. Then he tricked me into cleaning the whole hours for three hours. I'm sorry, ok? It was an accident, really..."

Naruto's eyes softened a little, but he still didn't say anything.

"And why would you be an easy catch?" Sasuke asked suddenly, sounding puzzled. "I've been hitting on you for months and you _still _threaten to behead me if I get too close. That isn't exactly easy catch material."

Still Naruto just stared. But his threatening exterior was betrayed by the slight shaking of his shoulders and the twitching of his lips. Sasuke tilted his head a little, puffing his lower lip out like an elementary schooler, and waited expectantly. He looked so petulant that Naruto couldn't take it any more. He burst out into laughter.

"Oh god, Sasuke, I just can _not_ stay mad at you. You're so annoying!" Naruto clutched his sides, leaning against the wall for support and gasping from the force of his laughter. Sasuke pouted even worse.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Your brother tricked you into cleaning your whole _house_? Oh, that is _priceless_!" Naruto snorted. "And you know what? I actually believe it."

"Hey." Sasuke frowned. "Should I be insulted by that?" Naruto just chuckled and sailed forward to plant a light, chaste kiss on Sasuke's lips. Sasuke took up permanent residence on Cloud 9. "These are for you, too." he said a bit breathlessly, pushing the chrysanthemums forward. Naruto cradled them like they were a newborn baby, a radiant smile lighting his pretty face.

"You know," he said coyly, nudging Sasuke's shoulder with his own, "we still have a few hours of daylight left. An ice cream sounds really good right now..."

"I'm paying, right?" Sasuke said, smiling despite himself. Naruto snickered.

"Oh yes. You're going to be paying for everything for the next five years to make up for this."

Lady Luck truly was nicer than Sasuke gave her credit for. But she'll have a riot when she notices the acid hole burned into Sasuke's wallet over the next five years.

* * *

_Author's Notes: _By the way, red chrysanthemums mean "I love you." I looked it up. I didn't want to give poor Naru roses, because he'd have to comment about the thorns. And I couldn't find any that meant "Please forgive me." Anyway, please **review**! 


End file.
